History and contemporaneity of Polish emigration to Chile

Abstract

The emigration of the Poles to Chile is a subject of research which, despite the passage of more than two centuries since the first Poles appeared in this part of the world, still raises many questions and is a source of myths. Both the scale of emigration – as it turns out – and the fate of the Poles in Chile are still a fascinating subject for sociologists, ethnographers, and cultural anthropologists. The historical context of research on Polish emigrants in this country also inclines to look at emigration from an economic perspective. That is justified by the activity of the most famous figure – Ignacy Domeyko, who has become a national hero and a symbol of Chile’s economic development. The article aims to present the genesis and scale of Polish emigration to Chile in a retrospective and contemporary perspective and a description of Ignacy Domeyko’s contribution to this country. The article attempts to answer the question about the reasons for the Poles’ emigration to Chile, its scale over the years, and the Poles’ fate in exile.

Keywords

• Polish emigration
• Polish Chileans
• Chile
• Ignacy Domeyko